This is an animation of panoramic images taken by NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander’s Surface Stereo Imager on Sol 15 (June 9, 2008), the 15th Martian day after landing. The panorama looks to the southeast and shows rocks casting shadows, polygons on the surface and as the image looks to the horizon, Phoenix’s backshell gleams in the distance.

The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.

Photojournal Note: As planned, the Phoenix lander, which landed May 25, 2008 23:53 UTC, ended communications in November 2008, about six months after landing, when its solar panels ceased operating in the dark Martian winter.